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A woman who admitted to leaving her newborn baby for dead in a toilet bowl in a motel room has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of post-release supervision.

Teresa Smith, 23, was sentenced by Orange County Court Judge Craig Stephen Brown on Tuesday, June 18, after pleading guilty to assault, said the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

At the time Smith pleaded guilty, she admitted that her actions in abandoning the newborn baby in the toilet bowl and leaving the motel room caused serious physical injury to the infant which created a substantial risk of death, the DA's Office said.

Prosecutors had recommended that Smith be sentenced to 15 years in state prison.

On November 1, 2018, motel workers at the Budget Inn Motel, located at 5202 Route 9W in the Town of Newburgh, discovered blood, other bodily fluids and soiled clothes in the room and immediately contacted the police.

Prosecutors argued that Smith had no intent to return or care for the child as she left the motel.

“It is hard to comprehend what could drive any mother to do this to her own baby by abandoning him under these circumstances,” said District Attorney David Hoovler. “Infants are the most innocent of victims. We can only hope that there are no long-lasting physical effects which will be suffered by the victim in this case. I am grateful to the Town of Newburgh Police Department for their actions is saving the child’s life.”